How to Write 夙 (sù) — Meaning “Early or long-standing.”

Picture a crescent moon (夕) in the night sky, and below it a person stretching their arms upward, getting ready for an early start. This visual of "moon plus early riser" helps you recall that 夙 means "early" or "long-standing." The bottom strokes look like a person with arms raised.

Write the top part 夕 first with three strokes: left-falling, horizontal hook, then another left-falling. Then add the bottom part: a left-falling stroke, a horizontal line, and a vertical hook, making six strokes total. A common mistake is making the bottom too wide or forgetting the vertical hook at the end.

Unlike 夙, the character 夃 (a rare, obsolete character) has a top similar to 夕 but a bottom that looks like a curved bow or hook. 夅 is an old variant of 降 and does not contain 夕 at all; its shape is like a left-falling stroke over a vertical line. Focus on the presence of the 夕 radical and the specific bottom strokes unique to 夙.

夙 appears in formal or literary expressions such as 夙愿 (a long-cherished wish) and 夙敌 (a long-time enemy). It is not used in everyday speech but is common in written Chinese and classical idioms. A famous phrase is 夙兴夜寐, meaning "to rise early and sleep late," which praises diligence and hard work.

Common words containing 夙 include: 夙愿 (sù yuàn) — Long-cherished wish.; 夙敌 (sù dí) — Old enemy or long-time rival.; 夙兴 (sù xīng) — To get up early..